How To Install An Outdoor Dog Toilet

How to install an outdoor dog toilet

In this blog I’m going to explain how to install an outdoor dog toilet area in a way that prevents a nasty urine odour build up.

At Top Dog Turf we specialise in the supply, installation and cleaning of artificial grass for dog owners.

We know what a HUGE problem dog pee is on synthetic turf.

What is a Top Dog Toilet?

A Top Dog Toilet is a specifically designed & installed fast draining section of your garden, covered in artificial turf that your dog will use as a loo.

This allows you to keep the rest of your garden clean and smelling sweet.

What it’s not!

I’m not talking about a Porch Potty or a portable pet loo that sits on your balcony or by the back door, I’m talking about a fully installed, permanent place for those doggy dos.

Your outside dog toilet is going to be pooped on repeatedly, and absorbing a lot of dog wee, so it needs to be engineered in a way that makes cleaning effective and simple.

The secret to success is fast drainage!

Your Top Dog Toilet should be installed using specific materials like our ‘No Stick Stones’ that will drain dog urine, contaminated water and our deodorising cleaners away from the grass surface and down through the sub base as quickly as possible.

Just digging up the old manky grass and laying down some sand it NOT going to work.

Your outdoor dog toilet will stink in just a few weeks, leaving you frustrated and out of pocket.

A correctly installed fast draining system will prevent the awful ammonia aroma and horrible ‘off gassing’ stink from bacteria growth that could make your dog loo a no-go area for the human nose.

Watch this short video to see why DRAINAGE MATTERS.

Reasons to install a Top Dog Toilet

• A small garden that needs to be clean & odour free
• Dog runs or specific doggy areas
• Old or poorly dogs who need to stay close to the house
• Toilet training puppies
• A quality artificial grass dog toilet looks and feels like part of the garden, rather than a rectangle of smelly gravel
• A dog loo will keep your artificial, natural lawn or garden dog free -for the family
• Perfect for fussy dogs who refuse wee on shingle or paving
• Cuts down the cleaning area for larger lawns or gardens

Why use artificial grass rather than bark or shingle?

If you don’t like artificial grass, you can follow our installation procedure and then top off your outside dog toilet with pee shingle or bark (Woof! See what we did there…)

However….

Artificial grass will look great in your garden and be more comfortable for the dog to stand on or circle about looking for the perfect poop place.

If kept clean, most dogs will also use it as a lounge area!

Artificial grass is easier to keep clean than shingle of bark and looks so much smarter.

For dogs that ‘wheel spin’ after they’ve pooped, prevents bits of wood or stone being scattered everywhere.

How to build an outdoor Top Dog Toilet

1. Decide on your width and length and depth of your new dog loo.

At Top Dog Turf, we sell 1 metre and 2 metre wide rolls of artificial grass for dog toilets.

2. Decide how deep to dig – The more dog wee, the deeper the drainage needs to be.

(see image for depth to dog size guide)

3. Either buy a complete Top Dog Toilet Kit from Top Dog Turf, or whichever component parts you require.

Email us info@topdogturf.co.uk if you’d like more help or to discuss your project.

Our ‘No Stick Stones’ are not available from builder’s merchants, as they’re a specialist material, so we’ll ship them to you on pallets in bulk bags or 23KG polybags.

You’ll need:

• A fast-free draining but stable base. ‘Top Dog Turf’s No Stick Stones’
• Clean Stone to ‘blind off’ the fast draining sub base. ‘Top Dog Turf’s True Grit’
• ZeoStop odour reducing minerals to top off the sub base
• Latex free polyurethane backed artificial grass that won’t absorb the uric acid from dog wee.
• Edging materials, glue, screws or grass pins. We recommend grass pins, so you can lift and replace the grass easily when or if required.
• Soil stabilising membrane

Installing your outdoor dog toilet:

• Start digging! – You’re on your own for this bit. Don’t forget the greater the wee the deeper the dig!
• If you have a heavy clay soil you’ll need to dig deeper to allow for more drainage stones. 
• When you’ve dug out your doggy loo to the correct size and depth, it’s time to start filling it back in with your free draining materials.

1) Lay the soil stabilising membrane at the base of the hole. Its purpose is to help prevent sinkage and keep the clean drainage stones away from the soil.

2) Fill the area with 20mm layers of ‘No Stick Stones’ and tamp down well until it consolidates. Keep adding in 20mm layers until you have reached your required depth.

3) When the ‘No Stick Stones’ have compacted together, fill the dog toilet up to 5mm or so from the surface with a layer of the ‘True Grit’ and compact as well as possible. This will smooth / blind the surface of the ‘No Stick Stones’ and prevent the smaller particle ZeoStop from being washed away.

4) Finish off with a 5mm layer of ZeoStop.

5) Lay your chosen latex free doggy grass carefully over the prepared sub base, trim to size and fix down with pins.

6) Evenly apply the ZeoStop odour reducing minerals and brush in well, so the volcanic rocks are hidden in the base of the grass.

7) Let the dogs out!

Your Top Dog Toilet Kit comes with full DIY instructions, and we’re always here to help and guide you.

Our Top Dog Toilet Kits include everything you need to install your doggy loo, and they come in standard sizes and depths with everything worked out for you, or bespoke sizes.

Please email or call us for help with funny shapes and sizes. info@topdogturf.co.uk 01908 366428

Top Dog Toilet Kits: 

1 metre wide x 2 metres long

1 metre wide x 3 metres long

1 metre wide x 4 metre long

2 metres wide x 1.5 metres long

2 metres square

2 metres wide x 3 metres long

2 metres wide x 4 metres long

Send an email to info@topdogturf.co.uk to discuss your order, or click the button below: